On the Winterhawks' road trip: that's how we get 'er done

The math: The Portland Winterhawks picked up nine out of 12 possible points on this road trip. The team went 4-1-1-0.

There's a first time for everything: Three rookies scored their first (and second) WHL goals on this trip:

Alex Schoenborn: Scored what turned out to be the game winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Brandon.

Presten Kopeck: Scored his first and second WHL goals 25 seconds apart in the second period of the 4-0 shutout of the Saskatoon Blades.

Seth Jones: Sealed the deal in Saskatoon when he scored his first WHL goal of the season to put the team up to its final score of 4-0. He scored again on Friday in a win that handed the Prince Albert Raiders their first regulation loss of the season.

And finally, lest we should start to worry he'd lost his scoring touch, Ty Rattie scored his first Rat Trick of the season plus one in the team's final road game against the Swift Current Broncos. I think we can safely bet that it's the first of many more to come this season. That game also marked a huge win for Brendan Burke, who held the line for 28 saves on 31 shots.

Five is the lucky number after 4: We all know what I think of the number four. But five worked pretty well on this trip too. Mac Carruth's blockbuster return was marked by a shutout, the fifth of his WHL career. Oliver Bjorkstrand became the first rookie to reach 5 goals this year. And finally, Ty Rattie would go on to rack up five points in the Swift Current game, hitting the 250 career point plateau.

Cookie monsters: My favorite type of goal is top shelf, preferably on a breakaway; but any top shelf goal will do, really. I also love the expression that goes with it: "top shelf where momma hides the cookies." One of Ty's four goals on Saturday was just such a beauty, but my favorite on this road trip was Taylor Leier's choice Grade A number in the Prince Albert game, his first of the season.

Honorable mention: Taylor Peters let it rip on a slap shot that tied the game with Moose Jaw and forced overtime. Alas, it was a heartbreaker that ended in a Winterhawks loss, but that doesn't take away from the beauty of that goal nor the chance it gave the team to win.

In other news: There is an upside to the NHL lockout: it has put the spotlight on AHL rookies making their professional debuts. Like say, several former Portland Winterhawks. Up north in Abbotsford, Sven Bartschi made his AHL debut by scoring 2 points 2 minutes and 12 seconds apart. One night later, he scored again to lead the team to two consecutive victories over Brett Ponich and the Peoria Rivermen. On the other side of the country, Nino Niederreiter finally exploded with two goals and two assists over the course of two weekend games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Get well soon: Brendan Leipsic appears to be down for the momentary count after a huge hit. Here's hoping it is not serious and is short lived.

Welcome home: Three players are officially back in a huge way, either literally or figuratively: Ty Rattie, Taylor Leier and Mac Carruth. Three rookies scored for the first time, which was inevitable given that they dominate the roster. And the boys return with a nearly perfect road record. In nearly two weeks on the road, the Winterhawks found their game and showed us the sign of beautiful things to come. It's like Joe Morrow told me after he was drafted by the Pens: the future is bright. The future rolls back into town today, and back onto home ice this weekend. To which I will simply say: welcome home boys. You bring the game, we'll bring the noise.